Portugal
participants
The goals of this activity were, first, to promote the Erasmus+ and other mobility programs to high school students; second, to share the culture and mobility experiences from international students with those high school students; third, to promote volunteering, active citizenship and reflections on diversity, inclusion and discrimination through a series of previously thought-out activities in which ESNers, international students and high schools students participated.
This activity lasted an entire morning, as our volunteers and international students spent approximately one hour in six different classes. They divided themselves into two groups, and each spoke with three different classes. In each class, they would introduce themselves, ESN and our international students. Then, each international student would speak for about 5 to 10 min about their country, their culture and their mobility experience. Then, the ESNers would present the activity to the class. There were several different activities put in place, inspired by the activities outline for Erasmus in Schools, and prepared according to the ages of the high school students. The activities centered around stereotypes of different communities and cultures, volunteering, voting as a right and as a duty, immigration and social inclusion, mobility experiences and privilege and justice. The young students were encouraged to participate, to be open to different opinions and to reflect on these issues along with our volunteers and international students. These activities were also in line with the school's Active Citizenship program for this academic year.
Erasmus in Schools had a tremendous positive impact on everyone. The high school students appreciated not only the testimony from the international students, but the opportunity to participate in the activities we had prepared for them, which let them explore issues they would not have the chance to discuss otherwise. The presence of international students from different countries (Brazil and China) was also enriching for them, as they had the opportunity to ask them questions about their countries and about their experiences in Portugal. For the international students, both appreciated being able to share their experiences with young students and inspiring them to apply to a mobility program, as well as participating in the activities along with the high school students. The teachers also appreciated this activity very much, as it was in line with their Activie Citizenship program, thus fostering this in their young students.
